7 ELLE.com Editors Recall Their Favorite '90s Fragrances

Gap Heaven and Gap Dream are not the same thing, okay?

For many of us, selecting our first perfume was a bit of a coming-of-age moment—graduating from stealing a spritz of Mom's signature scent to finding one of our own. Our tastes have since evolved, but that doesn't mean we aren't totally nostalgic for the fragrances we loved way back when (well, the '90s, so not that far back). Here, ELLE.com's editors recall those first favorite scents—as well as the ones we rely on now.

1 of 7

Leah Chernikoff, Editorial Director

Then: Clinique Happy, $39; sephora.com
"My first real scent that I remember loving and NEEDING TO HAVE was Clinique Happy. I loved everything about it—yes, the way it smelled but also the campaign! That Judy Garland song is stuck in my head just thinking about it and I couldn't be HAPPIER about it. See what I did there?"
Now: Tom Ford Neroli Portofino, $215; sephora.com

2 of 7

Justine Harman, Entertainment Editor

Then: Davidoff Cool Water Woman, $26; drugstore.com
"I loved Davidoff Cool Water because my best friend wore it and she always got the cutest, older boys. In my head it was practically the lady version of Sex Panther. Nevermind that they made Cool Water for men."
Now: Hôtel Costes Original Fragrance, $79; bigelowchemists.com"I wear a few drops of this on pressure points to take me back to the most romantic Valentine's Day ever."

3 of 7

Danielle Prescod, Fashion Editor

Then: Escada Sexy Graffiti, $54; drugstore.com
"I remember buying it at the Escada store in Boston when I was 15. My friends and I went in that store because YOLO, I guess, and 'fashion,' and obviously the only thing that I could afford was the perfume. I loved it because I thought it was the epitome of luxury; little did I know it was like purposely marketed to little tramps like me. Anyway, then after I had used it up, I went to Lord and Taylor to get more and they had discontinued it because they move on to a new perfume each season! So the next one I got was called like Island Kiss or something. They all had elements of the same notes so it smelled sort of like Sexy Graffiti but was also really original.
Now: Escada Turquoise Summer, $60; sephora.com
"Cut to present day, when I strong armed our beauty editor into giving me her bottle of newest Escada fragrance which still smells enough like Sexy Graffiti to get me excited."

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Kate Winick, Social Media Editor

Then: Escada Sentiment, no longer available
"The first fragrance I ever bought was Escada Sentiment when I was 13, which I loved right down to the pink heart-topped bottle and which my mother said smelled like flowers dipped in cotton candy and made her want to vomit. It has since been discontinued, so it's possible she was right."
Now: Hermès Kelly Calèche, $118; sephora.com
"Now I wear Hermes Kelly Calèche, which is also pink and floral but in a significantly more mature way, with beautiful notes of iris and roses and expensive leather."

5 of 7

Natalie Matthews, Senior Editor

Then: Gap Dream, $22; amazon.com
"I wear no perfume now because I get migraines and that's a trigger. (How's that for growing up?) But when I was younger, my favorite was Gap Dream. Most of my friends were super into Cucumber Melon and Warm Vanilla Sugar and the other POTENT Bath & Body Works scents, but I liked having something that came in a glass bottle, felt more grown up, and had a much more subtle smell."

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Ruthie Friedlander, Deputy Editor

Then: Gap Heaven, $17; amazon.com
"I would sneak into my sister's room to spritz it because I was too embarrassed to ask my parents to buy me my own. I felt that perfume meant that I cared what boys thought of me (which I did) and that was WAY too embarrassing to me. So every morning, during the brief five minutes between when my sister left for school and I would have to leave, I'd run into her room, take a spritz of Gap Heaven and run downstairs."
Now: Tom Ford Shanghai Lily, $215; tomford.com
"It's the perfect seasonless, sophisticated scent that has an air of strength about it. I've never gotten more compliments on a fragrance than when I started wearing this one."

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Victoria Hoff, Editorial Assistant

Then: Ralph Lauren Hot, no longer available
"I splurged on this scent after smelling it at a Sephora when I was 14 during an afternoon mall trip, and doused myself in the oriental vanilla fragrance every day until there wasn't a drop left. I would never wear anything quite so sweet now, but I held onto the bottle for sentimental reasons—and taking a whiff takes me right back to 8th grade."
Now: Atelier de Geste The Good Earth, $130; atelierdegeste.com
"These days, I have three favorite fragrances that I rotate seasonally. For spring, I'm all about about this beautifully complex, forest-y scent from Atelier de Geste."

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